Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-12-02
Sssoss1FLesH EATERS IN NEW YORK.
n Butcher whose Customers Are the
Park nirds And Beasts.

Park Dirds and Beasts.
he man led the way through pas-
eaGe from the stable to the other side Of
The building. The passage opened into
q large square room lighted by spacious
open doors ON both sides. The wood floor
vas stained a dull red. This is the
slaughter room, where the horses arc
killed and cut up for the animals at the
snenal at Central park. On q couple Of
hooks on one side Of the room hung por-
tons Of carcass like the quarters Of
beef. At glance one who was not an
expert in raw meat would have said this
was beef, but the horse butcher pointed
cut that the meat was of a deeper color
and closer grain than beef. Horse
meat is, he said, as he could state from
personal knowledge, equally as good as
beef when young and tender. There was
. peculiar flavor to horse meat, he added,
that some people liked better than beef,
and the lions and tigers were fond OF it,
but for himself he preferred good pieco
Il porterhouse steak every time.
In one corner Of the room was q re-
frigerator, where the meat Is kept until
it Is required. The skin of the last horse
Who had been killed few days before
lay on the other side of the room. He
was a bakers horse, the butcher ex.
planned, and his hair had been yellow.
Everything was as neat and cleanly and
free from taint as butchers shop could
be. The chopping block was washed and
as tidy as a kitchen table. The cleaver,
the saw and the small knives, shining
bright and sharp, hung in their places be-
Gide the butchers apron. About two
years ago the park authorities adopted
the plan of supplying the carnivorous
animals in the menagerie with horse
meat instead of beef. The measure, was
purely an economic one. Director Conklin
found difficulty at times in obtaining
good beef or mutton, and the prices
ranged from twelve TO eighteen cents.
In Europe the animals in the geological
collections are fed horses flesh. and he
advised the commissioners to make the
trial here. President Borden became in
terested and the brick building was fitted
mp as a stable and butcher shop, with a
result that has justified the outlay. From
yl0to $lo are PAID Tor horses, the butcher
- hired by the par x board and the actual
cost of~the meat Is now about three or
shree and one-hat cents pound.
About two horses on an average are
killed each week. They are rarely old
horses, as might be supposed, but usually
those which have given out from some
cause. Before they are accepted veter-
mary surgeon makes q careful examina-
non OF the animal to ascertain II II Is free
nom disease. There Is no difficulty In
securing all that are needed by the city,
ana usually two or three are kept IN the
stails, some of them TO be fattened before
sbey are Killed. From the ceiling near
the center OF the room rope hung down
nom heavy staple. The horses are led
snrough rue passage from the stable into
tne slaughters room when they are TO be
tihed.
"how DO you XIII them!' was asked.
Inc morse outcher picked up short
nendled' heavy hammer ana SAID: Horses
d'e easy. when bring them out here
s.es cloth round their heads, so that 1t
nnnds them, and they are SO quiet you
can DO anything with them. Then l
hasten TINS rope from the ceiling around
ne brute neck ana one heavy blow
nom the hammer Is gener ly enough. Ii
you would Ike to come around tomorrow
norning L IL show you how do it. 1t is
oootcherin day tomorrow and Old Dob
nan VIII nave 10 go; thats the gray one
you saw In there.
Inc reporter declined the invitation.
Makes you kinaer SICK, 1 guess,
sadel tne Dutcher'
"Weii, L didn't IKE it myself when l
oegan, though was used to butchern'
cattle but horses peared SO different.
You get used TO IL. though. The worst
b when some horse that's done good ser
wee gives out. and the people who bring
Inn here feel so bad 70 give him up. But
they say they would rather have the
horse killed than sell him, where he may
De starved or beaten. Sometimes
woman comes up crying and makes me
give back the horse. Once l had little
bay mare that the surgeon operated on
and she got well. You never saw any
body 50 tckled in your life as the lady
md the children were when told them,
and they took her back again. Most OF
she animals are pretty badly knocked out
when they come here. Them stone
pavements Is KILN on horses. IL gives
them the 'qultters, a swellin around
the ankles, and they am { good Tor much
after that. Now, there's an animal in
mat wagon out there, In which I'm going
% take the meat over for the lions din
ner: fon never saw such shadder as